Uncle Ben shook his head slowly. “I ain't seen her sens I left Mizzouri, goin' on five years ago.”
“But why haven't you? What was the matter?” persisted the master.
“Well—you see—I runned away. Not SHE, you know, but I—I scooted, skedaddled out here.”
“But what for?” asked the master, regarding Uncle Ben with hopeless wonder. “Something must have happened. What was it? Was she”—
“She WAS a good schollard,” said Uncle Ben gravely, “and allowed to be sech, by all. She stood about so high,” he continued, indicating with his hand a medium height. “War little and dark complected.”
“But you must have had some reason for leaving her?”
“I've sometimes had an idea,” said Uncle Ben cautiously, “that mebbee runnin' away ran in some fam'lies. Now, there war my mother run off with an entire stranger, and yer's me ez run off by myself. And what makes it the more one-like is that jest as dad allus allowed he could get a devorce agin mother, so my wife could hev got one agin me for leavin' her. And it's almost an evenhanded game that she hez. It's there where the oncertainty comes in.”
“But are you satisfied to remain in this doubt? or do you propose, now that you are able, to institute a thorough search for her?”
“I was kalkilatin' to look around a little,” said Uncle Ben simply.
“And return to her if you find her?” continued the master.